Michele Serro: We Don’t Need More Companies Creating Arbitrary Value

GUEST MENTOR Michele Serro, CEO of Doorsteps: While “make the world a better place” is completely subjective and impossible to pin down for any business big or small, there is one thing that should be the guiding force for all startup founders today: build something that matters. If you’re trying to “incorporate” social good into your current business model, you’re already on the wrong track. But if you build something that matters from the start, the social good emerges organically by just doing the work you initially set out to do.

The world does not need more companies creating arbitrary value. It needs more companies that have a strong mission to make things better, period. As long as people can agree that your presence is clearly a net positive, it doesn’t even matter what the thing is.

The beauty of startups is that you can start with a clean slate. It’s an opportunity to build the business model and the user experience together, and to really understand the purpose of why you exist in this world right from the start.

Being a slightly older startup founder (read: in my thirties rather than in my dorm room), that fact was never lost on me. Prior to starting my company Doorsteps, I spent several years at IDEO (a design and innovation consultancy), where we worked with many Fortune 50 companies. My biggest takeaway? Finding your way after years of losing your focus is hard. If a company asked us to help them “incorporate social good” into their organization, that was a clear signal that they saw it as more of a PR move rather than a core business constraint. And that’s terrible business.

The value of having a powerful, motivating purpose is not lost on today’s smart consumer, nor can the value of operating without it be discounted. Companies like Kickstarter, Watsi and Lyft have built that goodness right in from the start, reminding us that values drive business, and responsible companies create products and services that are an expression of those values. There are even investment funds today like Collaborative Fund that are seeking out companies like these that have strong values-driven businesses and that allow people to live better lives.

So how can startups incorporate social good the right way?

1. Stand for something that matters.

This is the bedrock of every business decision you will make. It is your point-of-view on what “good” looks like and why you won’t accept anything less, even when the going gets really, really tough. This will be the compass that guides you, from who you hire and how you treat them, to where you buy your software, to the way you deal with your trash.

2. Know which battles are worth fighting.

This is where most go wrong. As time goes on, many compromise some of the initial things that were super important to them from the start (as opposed to other things that are less important to their core mission). You want your product in the world, so you’ll need to compromise at times, but understanding the big battles are important.

3. Build a better organization.

Entrepreneurs are faced with a unique opportunity to not only build great products but to also build companies that are filled with great people. The world will get better when we build better organizations, not just when we build better products.

4. Consider the company you keep.

In May, my company was acquired. While there are many reasons why we decided to work with this particular company (as opposed to others), one of the main reasons was because they are good people that wanted to do more good in the world. I think this rule applies across every business scenario – the company you keep will either inspire you to be and do better, or it won’t.

5. Be intellectually generous.

Give back as much as possible to the community. Share your learnings and insights as much as you can. Instead of keeping what we learned about the housing industry just within our team at Doorsteps, we shared them with our friends who were buying homes and other stakeholders that could benefit from our perspective and experience. Maybe it will inspire other startups, or Davids taking on Goliaths in other industries. At the very least, we hope it will encourage other entrepreneurs to share more of their inspiration and purpose with the world. In the end, sharing what we learn and how we work will only help make things better for everyone. And to us, that’s really good business.

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